The Runaway
by Ritz-Rocker3.5
Summary: Being chased all over Fiore isnt the best way to live life. When 5 years of pain,torture,and tears are placed upon Ari, she'll do almost anything to escape from that; Even fight to the death. She comes across Fairy Tail and meets familiar faces. Can they help her and erase the pain of her past? That's only if she decides to trust them that is.
1. 1: Escaped

**DISCLAIMER:**** i DO NOT own FT though i wish i did but I DON'T. this goes for the rest of the story. Enjoy ;) !**

**IMPORTANT: This story takes place before the 7 year time-skip**

All **Bold Sentences = **Roca talking in her language

* * *

_The Runaway_

_1: Escaped_

_**(Ari's POV)**_

It began to rain in the thick forest. I gasped in pain as I ran. Blood dripped from my right arm. The rain penetrated the wound; causing a searing pain like acid. Beside me, Roca, my best friend and partner, whimpered with worry. "Don't worry, I'm fine," I said to her, trying to sound reassuring. She wasn't buying it and was going to say something, but i cut her off, "Besides, I think we lost them." The rain was coming down even harder and my strength was practically gone.

Luckily, Roca found a tree that was hollowed out from the bottom before I could pass out. We crawled into it. I removed my ruined cloak as she shook the water off her crimson fur coat. I was soaked and cold, but that didn't block the horrible pain in my arm. Roca walked up to me. Her worry was now anger.

**"You shouldn't have faced all those guys by yourself!"** she barked. Literally. Roca prefers to speak her native language rather than in human language.

"I didn't want you to get hurt."

**"But you are! And badly too!"** I covered my bleeding arm.

"Rocky I told y-"

**"Ari, you are NOT okay!"** Roca growled,**"I'm your partner and we are suppose to do everything together!"** I could hear the hurt in her voice. She was right. As always. Dammit!

"Sorry...Aaagh!" the pain seemed to come in giant waves. Roca, worried again, moved so that now I was leaned against her soft furry side which gave a little comfort.

I felt too weak to even move."I can't stay in this form." My body began to shrink. More and more until I was the size of 5 year old child. I _really _didn't like this form and sighed as I caught a glance of my child-like self in a small puddle of water. Staying like that helped regulate the little magic that I had until most of it was replenished. Pretty useful at times like these.

I looked like a mess. My clothes had tiny rips in them; I was covered in dirt, and had scratches all over my body. But I didn't care. If being like this meant being free, away from that horrible place, I would live like this forever.

Remembering being cold, I began shiver and snuggled more into Roca's warm coat. I hated began cold. It was a very uncomfortable feeling. It started grow dark. I wrapped my hand around something on my neck. It always reminded me of the warm and happy times before that fateful day. Gripping it tight, my eyes drooped. "I miss you so much...Natsu..." and with that, I curled into a ball and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Next Day -At Fairy Tail Guild-

**(Lucy's POV)**

It's a typical day at Fairy Tail. Some members were out on jobs, while others stayed to drink and have fun. Most were watching and placing bets the fight between Natsu and Gray or created their own. Even with all commotion, I just sat on my usual seat at the bar uninterested and drank a strawberry smoothie prepared by the beautiful Mirajane.

"Arigato, Mira," I said in a dull unfitting tone. The white haired mage nodded then asked in her always kind warm voice, "What's the matter Lucy?" Sadly,I let out a big sigh then placed my head on the bar counter. A few seconds had past when I finally spoke.

"It was another mission failed." I replied, letting out another sigh.

"Oh? I thought it was only a simple delivery job."

"That's what we all thought." I said lifting my head from the counter and placed it on my hand, "Simple, easy and the reward was enough _six_ whole months worth of rent, _six months_!"

I remembered that mess up of a mission.

* * *

***Flashback***

"_Now be __**very**__ careful with this item," the old woman said. Her gray hair was tied in a small bun and wore a purple kimono with sandals. She had a serious look on her face as her green eyes stared at the four mages and blue cat. __She handed Natsu a medium sized chest. _As soon as Natsu had it, he nearly fell to the floor. 

"_Oi! You're gonna break it before we even get a chance to deliver it!" the shirtless ice mage yelled._

_"Sh-Shut up ice brain!"_

_"You wanna go flame breath!"_

_"Both of you KNOCK IT OFF!" Erza yelled. They immediately stopped and replied, "Aye sir!" _

"_Uh, Gray? You're clothes," sighed Lucy._

"_What are you t–Oh crap!"_

"_S-So heav-y," Natsu struggled, "W-What the h-hell is in h-here!"_

"_A historical town treasure that was created to protect us a long time ago," the woman explained proudly._

"_If so important to you, then why are we delivering it to another place?" the armored mage asked. Everyone nodded in agreement with her._

_The old lady darkened with this question making everyone jump in surprise."Lately, there have been bandits roaming around the streets during the night taking people's valuables. "_

_Lucy gasped," That's terrible!" _

"_Indeed. That's why we decided to move the treasure somewhere safer until they leave."_

"_Understood." Erza said then she turned to her team," Let's go." They started to leave. _

"_Be careful young ones!" the woman warned as they left, "the treasure really fragile. A single mistake can break it!"_

_The blonde mage turned," Don't worry ma'am we'll take care of everything." She smiled reassuringly and then left with her friends._

_Don't worry. Yeah right. Halfway through the mission, the team stopped for a break because the weight of chest took Natsu to his limit and he almost dropped it again. Gray offered to carry it since it was too much to handle, but he denied it of course. Typical Natsu. Never backs down from a challenge._

_They were just about to continue when all of a sudden they get ambushed by bandits that have been following them. They happened to be the same group that had been terrorizing the townspeople. __Long story short, the bandits got their asses kicked and the package got destroyed. It somehow got disintegrated by a certain Fire Dragon Slayer. So the team went home with some money for stopping the bandits, but not nearly as much as the original reward._

***End of Flashback***

* * *

**(Normal POV)**

"And that's what happened," finished Lucy.

"I see, no wonder you're so down in the dumps," Mira said drying some mugs. "The lady was so angry," the blonde shuddered remembering what had happened.

"At least got some reward out of it."

"Yeah, but it's not nearly enough to pay off this month's rent and it's _his_ entire fault," Lucy hissed. Just then Natsu walked up. "Hey guys what's up?" he said donning his infamous toothy grin.

It disappeared when he was given a seriously scary death glare by Lucy. Natsu had to at least jump back 5 feet before crashing to the floor. Happy flew over to him asking if he was ok. Natsu nodded, "W-What's your problem!" He asked Lucy, a bit shaken. She just got up from her seat thanked Mira for the drink and stormed out of the guild. "Man, Lucy can be scary," Natsu said. "Aye," agreed the blue neko. "What's up with Lucy?" Natsu asked the take-over mage.

"She's mad at you because of the mission you guys took," Mira replied leaning on the bar counter. He groaned, "That's why she's so mad?" Mira nodded.

"I guess I'll go talk to her." He turned to leave.

"Wait Natsu!" white-haired mage called. He stopped. "Just give her some space. She's just worried about her rent that's coming up soon." He nodded in agreement then sighed.' I'll make it up to her, somehow.' He said to himself. Just then, a shriek from outside spread through the guild causing an absolute silence.

"LUCY!" Natsu yelled as he raced out of the door followed by Erza, Gray, and the rest of the worried guild.

**~End Of Chapter~**

* * *

**So what do ya think so far?I hope that it's not too long. Reviews are strongly encouraged, but you dont have to even though i really want you to. Hoped you enjoyed! More to come! **

**Here's some things about Roca if you are confused: **

**She's is a girl**

**Roca is pronounced (Rah-KA)**

**She is a mix between a fox, wolf, and bear**

**The size of a medium sized bear**

**Is the color scheme is like a fox, all red except for a white muzzle and paws**

**Looks and walks like a wolf**

**I hope this helps a little. See ya soon! ;) Wow... I say 'hope' a lot...Anyways, Bye!**


	2. 2: Split

**Hey guys! New chapter is UP AND RUNNING! YEAH!**  
**Special Thanks to:**

**Yui and Makino-chan: My first reviewer!**

**Remember:**All**Bold Sentences =** Roca talking in her language

**Let's Continue...**

* * *

_2: Split_

-Earlier that Day-

**_(Ari's POV)_**

I awoke in serious pain in my right arm where I was injured. Roca was already awake not to my surprise staring at me.** "How's the arm,"** she asked. Looking at it, I almost threw up. Just my crummy luck. It was infected. The wound had stopped bleeding, but it was red, puffy, irritated and was slowly climbing up my shoulder."Getting better," I lied, making sure she couldn't see.

I wrapped it up with a torn piece of my useless cloak not wanting to see more.I hoped that it would heal on its own because there was _no way _that I was going to go have it checked** (a/n: you'll find out why later).**

Roca looked at me skeptically,** "Are you sure?"** No.

"Of course!" I gave her my best would-I-ever-lie-to-you looks. Roca eyed me one more time before she relaxed a little. **"Good."**

"You need to stop worryin' about me," I huffed.

**"You need to stop being so reckless so I don't have to worry about you,"** retorted Roca. I wanted to say something back, but I couldn't think of anything. She was right, again. By the triumphant look, she knew it too. Dammit.

"Fine, you win."

**"I always do."**

My stomach began to growl. I heaved a sigh. I couldn't even remember the last time I had eaten a decent meal that didn't include an old apple and a couple of wild berries that I found. Maybe one? No, two weeks at least. Either way, I was still hungry. Roca probably was too, but never shows it.

It was a little after dawn from looking outside. Time to set out again. I finally regained some of my magic, but not enough to change back into my original form. Little girl or not, we had to keep moving as far away as we can get before they pick up our trail and hunt us down again. "Over my dead body," I said to myself coldly and quiet enough for Roca not to hear.

Refocusing, I pulled out a map that I, uh, "borrowed" from a nearby town. I looked to see where we could go next and stay there for a while. "Hmm, let's see…," I scanned the map,"Oh! This town is only about 18 miles away. Not too far I guess…...it's called, Magnolia?" I've heard that name before from somewhere, but I couldn't remember. "Okay then! Magnolia here we come!" Grabbing the little things we had, said goodbye to our make shift home and left for our next destination.

* * *

-In a Dark Uncharted Area-

_**(Normal POV)**_

"Sir! Urgent news!" A man and a woman walk into a well furnished brightly lit room. The man was wearing a black camouflage jacket with cargo pants and combat boots to match. The woman  
beside him wore the same thing but with shorts instead. They were both wearing ghost like masks that covering their faces. Their leader was sitting at his. " Haven't you people ever heard of knocking?" A deep cool voice came from a big leather chair that was turned around.

"Our deepest apologies sir." said the woman as she and the man next to her bowed respectfully

"Shouldn't you fools be working?"

"Well sir, it's ab-" the man started to say, but was cut off.

"I'm not paying you to stand around all day."

"Yes sir bu-"

"What do you want anyway?"

"It's about that girl who escaped five weeks ago," The woman talked fast enough so that she wouldn't be cut off by her impatient boss.

"Did you locate her?" He asked, excitement spread in his cool voice.

"Yes we did, bu-" the man was cut off again, "Oh good!" the leader said happily, "Bring her in here! I want to see my beautiful money making pet before she goes for her treatment!"

"We would if we could sir, but we can't," the woman said with a little nervousness.

"Oh?" his voice became dark as an eerie aura filled the atmosphere. "Why not?"

"I-It seems that s-she defeated the Tracking G-Guard and then e-escaped with this furry monster," she stumbled while her partner shook in fear. There was silence at first then the leader stood from his chair, his back still turned away. The eeriness didn't fade.

"What do you mean?" The room grew dark.

"I-It's like w-what I said sh-Ack!" a shadow hand that came up from the ground clutched around the woman's neck. "MARIA!" the man yelled, but stayed in his place afraid for himself. It slowly began to squeeze and as it did, a gurgly squeak escaped through her clenched teeth as blood slipped through from the grip.

Leader was facing the suffocating Maria and the cowering man. He looked fairly young, about in his early thirties and had a tall, well built body. He was dressed in a dark blue suit with a black tie and matching loafers. His medium length blonde hair was tied back in neat short ponytail. His cold gray eyes stared at the two subordinates.

"How could you let her escape, _again_!" he yelled at Maria. She didn't answer. "Well? I'm waiting," he said irritably. The woman was completely unconscious and was a light blue color. She looked, well, dead.

"Useless!" The suited man muttered coldly as if she was still conscious and not answering his questions. He command the shadow-hand to release the poor woman who landed on the lap of the hysterically crying man.

"I-Is she d-dead?" asked the mentally broken masked man.

"Who knows," the emotionless leader returning to his expensive seat,"If it is, get it out of here. I don't need a disgusting smell in here."

The men stared at his boss. How could someone be so cold and cruel? Suddenly the woman started to breathe again. Her color was coming back, but was still not awake. The man sighed in relieve. He jumped when his boss slammed a fist fist on his desk causing it to crack in half.

"YOU THERE!" masked man shook violently again.

"I WANT YOU TO TAKE ALL THE TRACKING GUARDS AND MAGES WE HAVE AND GO. GET. THAT. GIRL!" The leader barked,

"I DON'T CARE IF PEOPLE GET HURT OR EVEN KILLED! I JUST WANT HER! UNDERSTOOD!"

The man nodded unable to speak.

"Well what are you waiting for? DISMISSED!"

The subordinate scrambled to his feet and raced out the room with Maria in his arms

"Master Lucius," a calm female voice filled the room, "You shouldn't get so hyped up. It only causes more stress."

The suited man, Lucius, sighed irritated,"Macki, this isn't the time to be relaxed.

Suddenly, the young woman appeared from the shadows standing next to the seated angry boss. She had to be in her early twenties and was dressed in all black attire that fitted tightly around her curved body. Her bobbed hair was dark just like her eyes. Macki placed a hand on her master's shoulder and whispered in his ear," Let me take care of this; just relax."

Lucius was silent for moment then stood again staring at Macki. "Fine," he said waving his hand dismissively,"You take care of it, I'm turning in."

Macki bowed,"Of course, master."As Lucius walked out, he didn't even notice the tear that slipped from Macki's face.

* * *

-On the Road-

_**(Roca's POV)**_

We've been walking for a few miles now, almost to our destination, and I was getting worried for Ari. She was breathing heavily and her face flushed. I offered for her to ride on my back, but she declined wanting to walk on her own. I know something's going on with her especially with her magic flow. Its hard too sense. It goes from normal to dangerously high to incredibly low then back to normal and repeats all over again.

But why is it that way? Maybe I need more training..._THUMP! _What was that! Wait! Where's Ari? **"ARI!" **I called out, **"Where are you! ARI!"** I running all over the place in a ! She's always disappearing! I stopped and mentally face pawed myself ( since I don't have hands).

Stupid.

I'm a wolf and can track her scent. Sniffing the area, catching her spicy smell, it led me over to a broken small cliff edge. She must have slipped. That couldn't kill Ari, but I'm still concerned about her condition. I follow the scent, hoping for the best.

* * *

_**(Ari's POV)**_

Ugh. I feel dizzy and the pain in my arm is hurting like crazy. It should have healed already. I can't even walk straight. Maybe I should take Rocky's offer up on riding on her back. I turned to tell her, but she's not here...wait, Roca's not next to me?

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

WHAT! I a whole 360 twice. No big red wolf in sight. How could have this happened? Maybe she got kidnapped! Oh no!

"Don't worry Rocky! I'm comiiiiinnnngg!" my foot slipped on an unstable rock cause me to tumble roughly down a cliff. There were a lot of OOF!'s, AAH!'s, and ACK!'s before the the fall ended with me landing on my already injured arm.

"Ow,ow, and _OW_!" the pain was unbelievable. It felt as if gasoline was added to an open flame. Even if it was only minutes for the pain to subside it felt like hours. Gingerly, I stood up. There was a warm feeling coming from my chest. Looking down, I noticed that it was my necklace giving it off. It started to glow red too. I gasped. It couldn't be true...could it? "No, i-it's not possible," I said to myself shakily,"H-he's suppose to be d-dead!" My necklace would never lie. It has to be true and I'm going to find out. Looking up, I see a big silver arched sign. In the bold letters were the words would change my life...**WELCOME TO** **MAGNOLIA**.

**~End of Chapter~**

* * *

**Wow, that Lucius is one sick dude. Why was Macki crying? Who's supposed to be dead? Why doesn't Ari want to get her arm fixed? What does she look like? I know these answers, but do you? If you don't you'll find out don't worry ;). That's all for now and more chapters are on the way! R&R if you want to (please do!). See ya!  
**


	3. 3: Cutie Pie

**Hey Guys! It's been a while since I last updated. Sorry 'bout that. I've been busy with end of the school year stuff and things like that (plus I'm a slow typer :)).**

**Special Thanks to:**

**anon: I like your theory **

**Okay! Onto to the story...**

* * *

_3: Cutie Pie_

-Magnolia Town-

_**(Ari's POV)**_

I walked into the town, nervous yet slightly excited of what was going to happen. "Could it really be true?" I thought," Could _he_ really be alive?" A million things were buzzing inside of my head.

The pulsing heat from my necklace grew stronger as I took each step. Letting it guide me through the cobblestone streets, I accidentally crashed into something hard and got knock onto my butt.

Rubbing it, I looked up and noticed that I ran into a clothing store glass display case. The display was filled with all different types of clothes. From 'Frilly Lace Princess' to 'Hardcore Rocker Chick', they had it all. Hearing the store door open I scrambled to my feet. A middle aged woman with dark green hair and glasses poked her head out the door probably wondering what that big bang was.

"Is anyone hear?" She called out stepping out the was dressed, I think, a little too young for her halter top, leather jeans, and purple high tops.

Yeeeaaaahhh no. Not something a middle aged woman should be wearing.

I caught her eye,"You there," the woman said, walking up to me. I was about to run away until she said, "What is a cute little girl like you wandering around the streets?"_Little Girl?_ That lady did NOT just call me a little girl. Cute, yes of course I am, but little girl, kid or anything like that just rubs me the wrong way .

"Hey!" I shouted,"For your information, I'm a 16 year old mage and could easily kick your butt!"

"You're so cute! What's your name?" She asked excitedly, lifting my small body off the ground.

"Put me down!" I yelled trying squirm out of her grip of steel. This is why I hate this form. It's too weak and useless. If you for got I had to transform into a little kid to save the bit of magic I had left because of a, um, conflict...yeah, a conflict.

She ignored me and continued, " I'll call you Cutie Pie!" _Cutie Pie? Really? I am not some sort of pet you know!_ "My name is Lil! Look at your clothes. There all dirty and ripped! That won't do!" Lil carried me inside the highly decorative store and plopped me onto a nearby chair.

"Now," She started pulling out racks and racks of clothing," Let's begin!" The glint in her eyes told me that she wasn't joking.

"No! Stop!" I cried as she grabbed me yet again, "Nooooo!"

* * *

-Many Hours Later-

_**(Normal POV)**_

Ari needed to get of there. She couldn't take it anymore. That lady, Lilly or something like that, made her try on so many pieces of clothing that she was on the verge of burning this shop into ash. Well, if Ari could that is. Some of the clothes wear pretty good like the red knee length dress with long sleeves and a pair of black flats that were super comfortable.

The rest were just atrocious (a/n I hope I spelled that word right). Ari wasn't even going to try to explain how bad they were. The first escape didn't go so well and the second time ended with Ari getting cocooned in fabric.

By the fourth time, Ari finally succeeded. She just waited until Lil (that's her name!) left, jumped off her chair and climbed out the plan was simple and boring than the other ones, but the girl was desperate.

* * *

Finally away and sitting on a bench, Ari took deep breaths of fresh air relieved that it was all over. Or so she thought.

"Cutie Pie!" An annoyingly familiar voice called out, "We still have many things to try on!" It was her.

Lil was walking down a street about 20 feet with a long rack of clothes in tow. The sight sent chills down Ari's spine and she dove into the nearby bushes giving her a good cover.

"Cutie Pie! Come out, come out where ever you are~" Lil sang, and was now standing in front of the bushes where the poor girl was hiding. Ari held her breath. _'Keep going, keep going. Please!' _ Ari prayed.

Thankfully, she continued, calling out to me like we were just playing a game of hide-and-seek. When the loony toon finally disappeared out of sight, Ari climbed out of her hiding place and brushed off the remaining foliage from her clothes.

She was wearing one of the outfits that crazy lady made her wear. It was a sleeved gold waist coat with black trimmings with a fitted orange tank top, white shorts, and brown open-toed boots that went up to the middle of her calf. She liked it. Definitely her style. Not bad Lil, not bad.

* * *

_**(Ari's POV)**_

I continued wandering through the streets of Magnolia. After that, um, what's the word? Event of misfortune? Let's use that. After that event of misfortune, I was drained. It was like that lady suck all my new found energy that took me forever to restore. But I had to keep going. The red pulse from my necklace was stronger than ever before and also my excitement as well as the nervousness.

_'Whatever happens, happens.'_ I told myself unreassuringly.

I shook my head at what I was saying, _'What am I talking about! Everything's gonna be fine just fine!' _

I sigh sadly. I wish Rocky was here. It feels weird not having my big red wolf next to me. I'm sure she's okay and is probably tracking me down now. Suddenly, my high sense of smell catches a familiar scent causing me to freeze for a second then bolt right after it.

_I'm close. _I run past crowds of people through Magnolia ignoring their stares.

_So close. _As I run across a bridge my necklace becomes unbelievably bright bringing a warm sensation on my chest as it swings from side to side.

_So very close. _I can see a building up ahead while climbing up stone stairs that seem to go on forever. The scent drowns out everything.

_So very very close. _I reach the top, not stopping for a breath towards the huge building.

_Finally..._OOF! I bump into something soft before landing on my back. Why am I running into things today? I sit up to look at the thing I crashed into. It was a girl. She was in the sitting position too, rubbing her back. The girls hair was blonde with a bunch of it tied to the side with a blue ribbon. She had a seriously curvy body and pale skin that was dressed in a white and blue shirt, blue skirt with a belt that held a lot of keys, and black high heeled boots.

Blonde girl looked at me with chocolate brown eyes. They widened slightly for some reason then she ask,"Who are you?"

I was hesitant at first, but then I figured it would be fine. The girl didn't look like she could kill or even hurt a fly.

I stood up brushing off my clothes. Looking directly into her eyes, I spoke, "My name's Ari. Ari...Dragneel."

**~End of Chapter~**

* * *

**Wow that lady was cray to the zee, but she sure knows how to dress people. R&R please! See ya soon!**


End file.
